Which motherboard should I choose for E8500 CPU without doing OC

[saigonva]

I am currently have E8500 CPU. I am not planning to do OC. I need some advices whether which motherboard should I choose for my CPU.

This will be used for general use ( a little bit of everything).

My current components :

3 HDs
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W ATX12V PSU
E8500 CPU.
Dell 20" LCD
Antec 900 Case
- No Graphic Card Yet --- might get either 4850 or 4870.
NEC 20X DVD burner
Crucial 4 (2x2GB) DDR-800 MHZ
- OS - will be XP -32


Thanks,

saigonva

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Do you have a budget for the motherboard? That's a pretty open-ended question. There isn't really a "best" motherboard for the E8500. Do you want to have the option of adding another GPU in crossfire in the future? Here's a few options:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-13-128-358-_-Homepage&guid=28e23a828ae049b990b0a9ec48cbc426 $136.99 - $20.00 MIR

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359&Tpk=ga-ep45-ud3r $119.99 - $15.00 MIR

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299 $129.99 - $15.00 MIR

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345 $95.99 - $15.00 MIR

ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131329 $86.99

 

[saigonva]

Thanks Shortstuff for those links.

I can justified below $150 MB. I don't plan to add additional GP Card for crossfile purpose. However, I do plan to display on dual monitor (my existent dell 20" LCD and might get another 24" LCD) since I will be working on this computer a lot and need large displaying area. I wonder if that will require me to use crossfile later?

As for the choice of Motherboard, I don't want to bottleneck the performance of system.

Thanks again Shortstuff.

saigon

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The motherboard doesn't really affect the performance of the system at all. Just pick one with all the options you need and go with it.

You'll be able to run two monitors off of one GPU. I highly recommend the GA-EP45-UD3R for your use.

 

[saigonva]

That's it. Thanks for your suggestion.

saigonva.

 

[geofelt]

The motherboard doesn't really affect the performance of the system at all. Just pick one with all the options you need and go with it.

You'll be able to run two monitors off of one GPU. I highly recommend the GA-EP45-UD3R for your use.

Good advice.

If you don't have your OS yet, consider Vista, preferably the 64 bit version. XP is scheduled to become unavailable next year.

 

[cadder]

Based on this article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-x58,2087-11.html

I spec'd the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R for my new CAD workstation, concidentally with the E8500. The first thing I did after I got it was to up the FSB to 400, no drama and it just works. Very easy to do for 20% more speed.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

NOT overclocking your E8500 is a disgrace to your processor.

:lol: That's true. Overclocking has gotten so easy the chips are just begging to be overclocked. My E6420 that came stock at 2.13 GHz has been running at 3.2GHz for almost two years with no problems at all. It's even easier with the current hardware.

 

[saigonva]

geofelt - I am currently use all my existent desktops, laptops on XP(s). I feel comfortable with XP for configuration/security setup. Vista is still new to me. However, I might give it a try on Vista-64. Thanks.

Cadder, Zipzoomflyhigh and shortstuff_mt - I haven't done OC before. Just that currently I don't have much of free time. How long will it take to OC'ing my E8500 as a newbie like me?

Thanks all for suggestions and advices.